Judge lifts order blocking state oversight of Heights hospital closure

For seven months now, the old Heights University Hospital on Palisade Avenue has sat mostly empty. No patients. No lights in the ER. The kind of silence that makes a neighborhood nervous.

On Thursday, a Superior Court judge cleared the way for state health officials to keep pushing the hospital’s owners for answers about what comes next.

Judge Brian Katz vacated a temporary restraining order that had been blocking the New Jersey Department of Health from moving forward with a certificate of need process tied to the hospital’s closure. That process is the state’s main tool for making sure a hospital doesn’t just shut its doors and walk away without a plan for the community left behind.

Hudson Regional Health, which runs the hospital, had asked the court to stop that process and give them more time to figure out a way to reopen. The state argued the hospital has been closed too long for that to make sense.

The arguments in court

HRH’s attorney, Joseph Franck, told the judge his client wants the hospital to reopen. He said completing the state-mandated certificate of need process would make it harder to restart services quickly. “Nobody wants a closing. We don’t. We’re trying to stop it,” Franck said in court.

The state’s attorney, Francis Baker, saw it differently. He pointed out the hospital lost its accreditation and its license is void because it’s not providing services. “When you observe the facts, which are that the hospital is, in fact, closed, it would be absurd for the department to allow the applicants to withdraw their application,” Baker argued.

There was also a motion from property owner Avery Eisenreich to intervene in the case. His attorney said the lease requires the building to operate as a 349-bed hospital, and anything less counts as a default.

What the certificate of need process actually does

A certificate of need is basically the state’s way of saying, “Before you close or drastically change a hospital, prove to us you’ve thought about what the community needs.” Without it, a hospital could shut down overnight and leave residents scrambling for care.

In this case, HRH started the process but then tried to withdraw it. The state refused to let them. The judge’s ruling Thursday means the state can keep going with that review, including a public hearing before the State Health Planning Board.

What happens next depends on what that board decides. It could approve the closure. It could deny it and force the hospital to reopen. Either way, the community gets a say before it’s final.

What this means for Jersey City

For the families in the Heights and beyond, this fight isn’t just legal maneuvering. It’s about where you go when your kid has a high fever at 10 p.m. or your elderly parent needs stitches. The nearest hospital options have shifted, and that means longer trips, more stress, and real consequences.

Several residents I’ve talked to in recent months say they feel left in the dark. They saw the hospital close, heard promises about reopening, and watched months go by with no clear answers. Thursday’s ruling doesn’t solve that uncertainty, but it does force the conversation back into the open.

State’s attorney: “This isn’t about money”

Baker summed up the state’s position bluntly: “This isn’t about money. This is about exercising regulatory oversight for the healthcare, the health, safety, and welfare of the city.”

HRH’s attorney asked for up to two years to figure out a path forward. Baker rejected that timeline, saying the community can’t wait that long without services.

What to watch for

The State Health Planning Board hearing is expected to happen soon, though no date has been set yet. That public meeting will be a chance for residents to speak directly to the officials who will decide the hospital’s fate. If you want to be heard, keep an eye on the NJDOH website for the hearing notice.

For now, the courthouse steps are quiet. But the fight over this hospital is far from over.